The Darkest Hour of Night
by dingohart
Summary: Vittoria Davies moves to Forks with her father after her parents divorce. She makes friends with the loveable Alice and makes an 'enemy' of Edward Cullen. Her life is full of mystery after, and she start to leanr more about her family and herself.
1. Chapter One: Divorces and Forks

Chapter One: Divorces and Forks

**Chapter One: Divorces and Forks**

I was dangerously close to losing my mind as I listened to the numbing sound of my parents fighting. What they probably didn't realize was just how thin the walls get when they shout at each other. I was mildly surprised they hadn't decided to get a divorce before this; it would have made everyone else's lives easier or at least mine. But think of what that would have done to my mother's image.

I could care less about the image, the preposterous things they said in certain company. The word divorce coming from the two of them was refreshing. It was like they were finally acknowledging a fact that had been part of their life for the last two years.

The fight themselves were easy enough to understand if you were involved in the world of upper class snobbery. In truth they really can't help but be this way, they were bred to think they are above other people. My mother, Bethany Davies, was the perfect stay at home mom. She made sure I was at school on time everyday, and picked up from school when I was done with any activities I was involved with.

My father was a partner at the Howard and Davies Law Firm in Hartford. He had been valedictorian of his high school class. Then he went to Harvard for pre-law then Law School. He was a law wizard; everything came naturally to him when he first started off as a defense attorney. He met Thomas Howard at a campaign event for Governor Roland. The two quickly realized how similar they were and the benefits that starting their own law firm would bring.

For Howard and Davies there was never that rocky beginning, only success after success. The Hartford offices were setup a year before I was born. As a partner my father was able to take the cases he really wanted. He worked mostly the estates of people with old money. On occasion he was involved with a murder trial or consulted by some kind of corporation, but the real money was working with money.

Jonathan Davies knew how to be liked, he could smile at you, with his big chocolate eyes and his clients felt they could trust him. How could they not trust the loving father, whose wife volunteered at the church in West Hartford and came into the city to help out at the shelters?

So for the first fifteen years of my life I was dragged to party after party, stuffed in frilly dress with matching patent leather Mary Janes. My hair always perfectly coifed, tight curls falling just the right way. The old men would sneak me sweets to make my smile, and their wives would scold them then fawning over how adorable I looked.

I would be lying if I said I hated every moment of it, there were certain appeals to the good life. I enjoyed the attention and the little gifts. I was spoiled as a child, but I somehow managed to keep my head as I grew older, not becoming one of those insolent brats that I had hated as child.

It was my imagination that saved me. I'm convinced of it. At home, safely hidden away from the world I could be whoever I wanted to be. In my own world I was able to play with other kids, get dirty and have the kind of fun that other kids have. It was my escape.

I was in my first year of high school when my whole world came crashing down around me. Thomas Howard was a very ambitious man, too ambitious. He started to embezzle money from accounts he was working on and was caught. He was convicted and sent to prison. The disgrace it brought to the firm was too much, no one would trust my father, most of his clients pulled out, only a few of the older ones stayed.

My father closed down the firm and went to work at one in town. My mother couldn't stand it. The name Davies was disgraced now; her husband was your average lawyer, not a partner at an esteemed law firm. Money was tighter, but not all that tight in the scheme of things. Bethany Davies was no longer able to go to the spa biweekly but once a month, and I was no longer forced to study piano with the overly grandiose Madame Bouchard.

After the big change was when the fights start. This wasn't the life my mother wanted, she felt ashamed. She blamed all of this misfortune on her husband, but I knew it wasn't his fault. The little changes didn't bother me, and I was convinced my mother was over reacting. We were still a step above most people, but for her the damage had been done.

The day my world changed was a seasonally warm day in November. I got a ride home from school with a friend because Bethany hadn't felt well for a while. When I got home she was crying on the floor of the living room, my father pacing back and forth, his face contorted in thought.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not expecting my mother to answer in her state, but I was surprised when she choked back a sob and opened her mouth.

"I'm pregnant!" I choked back a laugh that was forcing its way out. This situation couldn't get any worse. My mother was a horrible mother, hardly full with the maternal love it required to raise a child and I was convinced she had used it up raising me. I had to shake my head to clear my thoughts. Now was not the time to start a fight.

It turned out she was three months pregnant, and for the next half a year I tried to occupy my time with studies in an attempt to block out the fight that broke out almost nightly. I was nearly done with my sophomore year when the baby came. My father and I had sat outside the room, neither of us wanted to become victim to the wrath that was my mother in labor.

Jonathan was nervous. He ran a hand through his thick black hair, his eyes closed. The waiting was killing him. At about 9:30 on Saturday, May 20 we were let into the room to see the bumbling baby boy. Only the sight that met us was quiet unexpected.

Bethany Davies looked gaunt; her petite body covered with unflattering hospital clothes. Her green eyes were filled with tears again, her blonde hair pulled back away from her face. Jonathan followed me into the room, worried about the babe.

The boy was in her arms, covered in a blue blanket. All of my mother's attention was on the child, but I couldn't quite interpret the emotions on her face. She shifted in the bed and I heard my father gasps from behind me.

The face of the baby was visible, and it was that of an angel. The bright green eyes were wide as it looked around the room. It was peaceful in the arms of its mother. I was not surprised by the green eyes, nor was my father, they mirror my own. The surprise came from the mop of hair that covered his head.

When I was born I was completely bald, but that was normal. I had a friend whose younger sister was born with wispy hair. And I had heard of children being born with hair, it wasn't unusual, but this. This time I couldn't help but laugh at.

The red haired babe looked at me and I could help but love the child. Anyone who looked that innocent was too cute for their own good. It was the face of an Irish cherub, the face of Bethany's personal yoga instructor.

"What have you done!" My father exclaimed before storming out of the room.

"Ha, you whore." I could have been more considerate, but my mother hardly considered my feelings so I returned the sentiment.

That's when the word divorce snuck into our life. My father filled for it that Monday. He was shocked by my mother's infidelity. Quickly I realized what was going to happen and before the summer started my father approached me about the split.

"You realize that a lot of things are going to change now right, Vittoria?" I nodded, how could it not change, the two could hardly stand to be in the same room as eachother. "And you have to decide whether or not you want to be with your mother or me.

I pretended to weigh the options in my head, but in reality I had already made my decision. There was no way I was staying with Bethany after what she did. How could you live with someone who betrayed the man she was suppose to love till death do them part. My father was the obvious option. He lived realistically, we were more in common them my mother, who tried to force me into being someone I was not. I knew the baby, Cormac, was going to be with Bethany, but there was nothing I could do to save him from living my childhood.

"I'm going with you." His shoulders seemed to relax and he let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. I felt and intense amount of sympathy for the man in that moment, if I had said no it would mean his whole family had abandoned him. It was a moment of weakness and it made my love for him so much more. Impulsively I reached out for him and enclosed him in a tight hug.

At first his body was tense; hugs were not something a family like ours gave out. I gave him a second to recover from his shock, and then felt him hug back. It felt good to know that he cared, that he wasn't cold and wanted me to be with him.

"But you understand that if you come with me you have to move." I hadn't really considered this, it made sense, we couldn't all live in the house after the divorce. Hell, we could hardly all live in the house before it. He started talking about moving, but I tuned him out as I thought about it.

"…and I already got the house."

"Wait what house?" I had tuned him out and missed the whole thing.

"The one in Washington, I know your use to living near the city, but the town is small and an old friend lives there and it's where my mother was from."

"What town?"

"Forks."

A.N.

Alright guys, this is my new Twilight story. Hope y'all like it.

I'm only gonna put the disclaimer here, I do not own Twilight, or any of its characters (no matter how much I wish Edward was mine). I am not Stephenie Meyer, therefore i'm only borrowing these characters and make no profit form writing this.

Thank you. And Goodnight.


	2. Chapter 2: Escaping Society and Hiking

Chapter 2: Escaping Society and Hiking

**Chapter 2: Escaping Society and Hiking**

I snorted at the name, Forks. What kind of name was that? I bet it was a mile down the rode from Spoons. My father was saying something again and I was missing it.

"If you're coming with me we are leaving the week after school ends."

We did indeed leave a week after school ended. All of my possessions were shipped across the country, save a few dresses I would never wear again if this really was a small town. I was escaping the high class society that I grew up in. I could start over, go to a regular high school and have real friends.

The morning we left was rushed; luggage was shoved into the back of a cab. Bethany had decided that she was going to be an emotional wreck and couldn't stop crying. It really was a ridiculous display of feelings that I was sure she didn't feel. She didn't understand why we had to move so far away and why I had to go.

I understood Jon's reasoning. Get as far away from Bethany as possible so she couldn't bother him. Plus is family had been from that area of Washington so for him it was kind of going home. I had asked him about his mother. She had died giving birth to him, and after that his father David Davies had moved to the east coast. David died when I was six.

I held on to Cormac as Bethany tried to convince Jon to stay. The disgrace was to overwhelming for her. Cormac played with my hair as I spun us in slow circles. It was better for us to leave; Cormac wouldn't have to listen to their senseless fighting.

Bethany's woods were made even less convincing because of the hovering presence of Seamus, the Irish yoga instructor, in the doorway of the house. I knew he was moving in as soon as we were gone. I could only hope he would be a better father to Cormac than Bethany would be a mother.

I gave Cormac a quick kiss before climbing the cab. I gave Bethany a cheeky wave, and Seamus the Irish stud the finger. Before I knew it I was saying goodbye to the only life I had ever known.

I sat on the American Airlines plane next to Jonathan, who had the aisle seat. I was contemplating what life would be like in Forks while watching the scenery change out the small window. After a while I fell asleep. I was out until we landed at the airport in Seattle. From there we took a cab to the house that was going to be my home for the next two years.

When we arrived at the house all of our boxes and furniture had been unloaded and I walked over the carefully polished floor and studied the new abode. It wasn't as grand as our house in West Hartford. It had charm, it was warm and inviting.

"I like the house." I said finally to Jon, he was waiting by the door sorting through a couple of the boxes in the foyer

"You do? That's great. I was afraid it wouldn't be good enough, you know your mother would never approve."

"And that's why we left."

After that we rarely talked about my mother. Occasional I would call to asked how Cormac was; he was still my half brother after all. She sent pictures of him every couple of weeks. I spent the summer getting acquainted with the town. I met a few people who were in my grade. One was Mike Newton, whose family ran a sporting goods store. I had gone there one day to buy some stuff for hiking. There wasn't much to do, and the scenery was breathtaking, although it was almost always raining, and even then it had its allure.

I wasn't really sure what I needed so I asked the boy at the desk.

"Taking up hiking, well there plenty of places to do that around here." He said pleasantly. He came from around the counter and showed me around the store and suggests different items.

"My names Mike, by the way. Mike Newton." He said smiling.

"I'm Vittoria Davies." I supplied.

"Oh, your father is the big shot lawyer than. I heard my folks talking about him."

"Yeah, that's him. We moved in the Garrison House." Mike gave a low whistle.

"That house is big, not many people could afford, but then again, you dad is a lawyer." I almost said something about our old house, but caught myself, I didn't want to scare people away.

"It doesn't seem as big on the inside as it looks. The gardens are the best part." It was a miracle that anything grew there at all.

I talked to Mike a little longer before leaving after promising to come in again to tell him how the hiking went. I left the store hopeful. It wasn't hard to make friends when they weren't trying to prove their superiority. I hadn't turned out to be a complete snob like my mother. I could make this work.

The day before school started my thoughts weren't as hopeful as the first day I met Mike Newton. I was terrified that the other people in school wouldn't like me. It was easier back home where I expected the other girls to be indifferent to me, it was the way we were taught to act.

I did have at least one friend. Mike Newton and I seemed to get on very well the few times we met. He was much different then the boys that I had known before. There was none of the stiff pleasantries or forced compliments. He spoke easily and found humor in the smallest things. When I told him about my fears for the school year he assured me that I would do fine.

"Don't worry; you'll have more friends than you'll know what to do with. Everyone loves the new girl."

I didn't want to be known as the 'new girl', but I could stand it as long as I wasn't known as the ice queen. That's what the kids at my old school had thought of me as. The problem there was that I didn't want to join into the mindless banter about high society, fashion and their latest buys. It was like I was born into the wrong part of society. I was angsty, needed to be free, but I was held back by who my family was.

Since moving to Forks I had watched myself change into the person I had always wanted to be. I wore jeans and tees instead of blouses and pleaded skirts. I always blow dried out my dark curls and experimented dark eyeliners. A few times I had caught my reflection and it had scared me. Slowly I found my style.

I painted my nails all different colors of the rainbow, always making sure they didn't match my outfit as they had when my mother had been in control. I would pull my straightened hair into messy buns, or sometimes I would just not brush it. The few pairs of jeans I had soon became ripped in places from hiking, and I was comfortable with who I was.

Once on the phone Bethany had asked for some picture to see how I was adjusting, so in a haze of rebellion I put together my punkiest outfits and had Jon shoot a couple shots of me in different poses she would find indecent. Jon thought it was all great fun. he really was a light hearted man.

Then I took the camera with me and snapped some shots of me on one of my great mountain hikes. After the film was developed I wrote commentary on the backs that I knew would send Bethany into a tizzy. I was still waiting for a reply.

* * *

A.N. Alrighty, so that is my second chapter. Hope you like, lots of Edward comiing up soon I promised.

Also great thanks to my first reviewer, **Smilemtz.**

Till next time Lovelies

Dingohart


	3. Chapter Three: First Day and New Friends

Chapter Three: First Day and New Friends

**Chapter Three: First Day and New Friends**

I woke up on the morning of the first day groggy. I hadn't slept well worrying about how school would turn out. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a short sleeved rugby shirt. I pulled my hair back and applied a small amount of makeup, nothing like that of my first few weeks in Forks.

After I ate a quick breakfast and gave Jon a quick goodbye kiss, I left the house. The second week after moved in Jon had taking me to Port Angeles and bought me a car. I was rather surprised and touched by the gesture. Bethany thought it was indecent for me to drive myself. Ha, I could drive if I wanted to.

I had chosen a silver Nissan Sentra. I didn't want anything to showy. I had sworn off the extravagance of my past life. I threw my bag in the passenger seat and climbed in the driver's side. I put the car in reverse and pulled out of the drive way for my first day of school.

When I arrived at the school the parking lot was already half way full. I quickly found myself a spot and parked. I got out and scanned the school yard. There were groups of kids sitting around and talking to each other. I felt panic rising up in my chest. I didn't have anyone to go see, I would have to wander around alone until school started.

As my panic reached a crescendo I felt an arm wrap around my shoulders and the smiling face of Mike Newton greeted me. His hair was perfectly spiked as always and his eyes bright with light.

"Hey Vittoria, you excited for your first day of school."

I looked at him miserably, "Do I look excited?"

"Nope, but everyone gets the first day jitters, come on why don't I introduce you to some people." I agreed with him, wanting to get the painful first introductions over with.

I was surprised at how welcoming the other kids were. Mike introduced me to a shy girl named Angela, a greasy looking boy name Eric Yorkie, and a few other people whose names escaped me in the whirlwind of introductions.

My first class was English, and I had it with Mike and the boy named Eric. It was your normal first day class. The teacher talked about classroom rules and what the class was going to do over the year. Then everyone in the class was made to introduce themselves and after word we were allowed to talk amongst ourselves. I mostly talked to Mike, while inconspicuously watching the people around us. There were a couple small groups that I was sure were talking about me.

"Don't worry about it." Mike said after I mentioned it to him. "You're the most exciting thing to happen here since some hikers got themselves lost last year. It will were off after a while."

After what felt like a millennia the bell rang signaling the end of class. My next class was art in building 7. I asked Mike for directions then headed off. I got lost once and the bell rang just as I walked in the room. The teacher, Miss Jankson, a very harassed looking women ushered me in, assuming I was new. I sat down in the only open seat next to a pixie like girl with shot hair and golden eyes. She looked at me for a second before turning her attention back to the teacher.

I listened to the same monotony of rules that every art room had. Heard the same what is going to happen in class this year and eventually came the name game. I found it fun to know that even in high school we were made to do things we were forced into doing as children.

Since this was an art class there was a creative spin to it. Each person was given an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper and instructed to drew our first initial and things that described you. There were to be no words, only the one letter from our name. We were allowed to use any dry medium of our choice.

The girl next to me chose to use charcoal pencils, while I helped my self to collection of worn out pastels. I took out a burnt sienna colored one from the pile and started by drawing the V for my initial. I decided mine would be theme after the woods because right now that was the biggest thing in my life. The V became the supports of two trees that fanned out at the top. I made a couple smaller trees then created a canopy of leaves at the top. Hidden in the leafy background I hide small animals that I had seen while hiking. Then in a moment of humor I drew what looked like a red haired green eyed pixie hidden in the trees. Cormac.

"That's really nice." The girl next to me was looking at the picture intently with her golden eyes.

"Oh, thanks." I looked at hers, it had a black background, with a very old styled A in the middle of a chaos of swirls and colors, all very bright to contrast with the black abyss. "Yours is nice too. Do it represent the chaos that is you life."

Then girl looked down at the image as if for the first time. "I guess you could say that, but its more like the past." She finished cryptically. "I'm Alice, by the way. Alice Cullen. She extended a pale hand, fingers smudged with charcoal. I took the cold hand in mine, surprised by the firmness of the smaller girls grip.

"I'm Vittoria Davies; it's nice to meet you." Alice looked at me for a moment, as if considering something.

"Vittoria, an odd name, would I be wrong in guessing it came from the Commedia Italiano." She asked using a very good accent.

"Si, my mother was a bit of a romantic in her youth and named me after on of the lovers."

"Ah, the hopeless lovers, quite an interesting choice for a name. Is your mother Italian?"

"No, but she went to Italy for Carnivale one year and fell in love with the culture. It is probably one of the only things she every really loved." She didn't really love anything as enthusiastically as she did think Italian.

"Do I detect a hint of displeasure?"

"Yeah, my mom had an affair. It's why I am here, my parents got a divorce and I went with my father. Its kind of like starting over for him, so could you not spread it around. I don't know what he's been telling people to being here, but I don't think it is the entire truth. I can already see that nothing is really sacred in this town." Alice nodded in agreement

"Isn't that the truth? Well, your secret is safe with me. Cullen's are good at being discreet."

"Oh really?" I asked skeptically.

"Oh yes."

Before we could talk anymore, Miss Jankson asked the class to hang their picture on the front board. We spent the rest of class discussing what people had done and their different techniques. Soon the bell rang and it was time for me to bid farewell to Alice and head off to my next class Trigonometry.

Math was not one of my most favorite subjects, but Trigonometry was my best part of it. For some odd reason I excelled in it more than anything else. The teacher Mr. Varner was a boring man, and I couldn't help but think that this class was going to be the hardest to pay attention in. I spent most of the class staring out the window. Varner couldn't' be bothered by introduction, he would rather know what we knew then we were.

I was more than overjoyed when the bell rang and released form the tortuous drone of Varner voice. I looked at my schedule and saw that my next class was in building 8 and it was Italian. That class was quickly over and it was time for lunch. I hurried over to the cafeteria, wondering where Mike was. He had said that we had lunch together but I couldn't see him. I wondered in and looked around the room and saw a few people I recognized from classes.

I spied a table across the room that the girl Angela was sitting at, I started walking there when another table caught my eye. Alice was sitting with a group of abnormally pale people. All processed an unnatural beauty and allure. She would have stared for a bit longer but there was something about them that made her anxious, and a little paranoid.

She turned away and walked over to where Angela was sitting.

"Hi, is someone sitting here?" I asked when I reached the table, pointing to the chair next to Angela.

"No." She replied in a small voice. I sat down and pulled out my lunch from my bag. After a while Mike and a few other people came to the table. Mike asked me a few question about my day. I answered them dutifully, but I was starting to feel a little sick.

Conversation about their summer preoccupied most of the table, but I opted to listening and next to me Angela seemed torn between wanting to say something and the fear that it would come out wrong. I leaned over to her and asked her a question that had been bothering me since coming to lunch.

"Hey Angela, who are those kids sitting over there at that table?" I asked discreetly pointing to the table with Alice Cullen." Angela looked across the crowed café to the table that I had pointed at. She blushed a little then looked away.

"Those are the Cullens, or at least it Alice, Emmett and Edward Cullen. Then there is Jasper and Rosalie Hale. Doctor Cullen and his wife are their foster parents."

"Why isn't anyone talking to them?" I had glanced in that direction a couple times as the café had filled with more people and it seemed people steered clear of the Cullen-Hale family.

"They don't really talk to anyone. They tend to keep to themselves, they're kind of intimidating."

"I met Alice today in one of my classes, she seemed nice. May be different then other people, but she was kind. And she is kind of short, not really that intimidating." I looked away from Angela and back to the table. The boy with bronze hair was looking back at me. I had to force myself not blush while looking back at him. He turned to Alice and whispered something in her ear and she looked up. Her face was curious at first then broke into a grinned and she waved at me. I returned the wave, but couldn't help see the disagreeable look the one next to her gave me.

I turned back to Angela and smiled. "See she's friendly, you just have to get to know people first."

I talked to Angela for the rest of the lunch period, occasionally looking over to the Cullens table where the bronzed hair boy was ostracizing a very annoyed looking Alice. I could only imagine what it could be about.

A.N. Alright, this is chapter 3. Hope you all like. And I just want to say I love reader traffic, because knowing how many people are reading your story is good for a writers ego and motivations. And so are reviews, so i owuld like to thanks **Terra106 **and **Smilemtz.**

Till next time lovelies!

Dingohart


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